Profile: Cobb pretty much came from nowhere to tear his way through the Minor Leagues in late 2010 and early 2011. In nearly 200 high-minors innings, he's struck out over a batter per inning and walked fewer than two and a half per nine. That's not a ton of innings, though. When he hit the Major Leagues, his 91 MPH fastball did not impress, his control disappeared, and he was left with his plus changeup and his plus changeup alone. That meant a good ground-ball rate and not much else to like about his peripherals. Cobb could be a back-end starter in both real-life and fantasy baseball, though, so he's worth a flier in AL-only leagues, especially ones with deep benches. But he'll have to wait his turn -- or hope for more mediocrity from Wade Davis -- before he gets his shot. (Eno Sarris)

The Quick Opinion: Call him To Be Determined: Cobb has had some nice numbers in the minors, but he doesn't quite have the pedigree and his stuff is an open question.

Profile: Cobb is the type of pitcher every rotation needs. Armed with one of the game’s best changeups, he’s not flashy but provides valuable innings while minimizing damage. He had the third-highest ground ball rate (58.2%, minimum 120 innings pitched) in baseball and will have an even better infield defense behind him with the additions of Yunel Escobar and James Loney. His 177 combined innings last season were a career high and he’ll have a larger role in the rotation with the trade of James Shields. He won’t get you big strikeout numbers, but provides enough production in various other areas to be a solid middle of the pack starting pitcher. Even in fantasy, where the replacement level is higher. (Erik Hahmann)

The Quick Opinion: Cobb enters 2013 as the Rays fourth starter, capable of a sub-four ERA and double-digit wins, albeit with a low strikeout rate.

Profile: Alex Cobb was the Ace in Training for the Rays in 2013. Though injuries limited him to just 22 starts, Cobb still managed to access the public attention with an ERA that was 27% than league average (and an FIP that was 11% better). His enormous ground-ball rate (56%) makes him a likely career-long candidate for beating his fielding-independent stats, which makes him more valuable in standard leagues than linear weights leagues. But even in linear weights leagues, his nasty, bat-missing curve balls and impeccable control netted him a 23.2% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate -- both very useful in any manner of league. But can he stay healthy? Well, his injury in 2013 came in the form of a line drive off the cranium. Since he pitched expertly following his return, it's hard to imagine lingering effects from that horrific injury -- but he also had shoulder surgery on his throwing side as recently as 2011. Cobb will only be 26 in the 2014 season, and has no real injury history outside of the line drive ouchee and the surgery, so it's unfair to assume he's a greater risk than any other pitcher out there. But it's worth noting: He still hasn't pitched more than 150 innings in a single season his pro career. (@BradleyWoodrum)

The Quick Opinion: Injuries slowed Cobb's ascension in 2013, but he finished the season strong and should continue to dominate hitters in 2014. His mix of strikeouts and ground balls make him a bit of a FIP-beater, but he limits walks enough to be valuable in traditional and linear weights leagues. Just keep an eye on his health: He's never pitched more than 150 innings in a season.

Profile: Cobb entered the 2014 season having improved upon his strikeout- and walk-rate differential -- quite predictive, that metric, relative to its simplicity -- in each of the two years since his rookie campaign, from 7.1 percentage points in 2011, to 11.6 points in 2012, to 15.4 points in 2013. While research by Bill Petti and Jeff Zimmerman -- plus by other people of similar intelligence, probably -- reveals almost uniformly that pitchers begin to decline as soon as they enter the league, that's also true merely of pitchers as a group. With regard to Cobb, meanwhile, one was forced to allow that he might continue to improve from merely a solidly above-average pitcher to an elite one. Unfortunately, he suffered an oblique strain during his third start of the 2014 season and was compelled to miss more than a month of baseball. When he returned, he replicated his 2013 season's rates almost precisely. While not a prototypical "ace" given his relative lack of arm speed and reliance on the splitter (which he threw at a higher rate than any other qualified starter threw any sort of changeup in 2014), Cobb still profiles as one the league's top-30 starting pitchers -- and is likely to assume the role of Tampa Bay's ace in 2015. (Carson Cistulli)

The Quick Opinion: Cobb doesn't have above-average velocity, but he has above-average everything else. If he can remain healthy enough to pitch 200 innings, he'll be worth three-plus wins to the Rays.

Profile: Another victim of the brutal Tommy John epidemic that affected many elite starting pitchers in 2015, Cobb was on his way to cementing his place as a number one starter after strong -- if not slightly shortened -- campaigns in 2013 and 2014. With a hard changeup that acts as a splitter (to Cobb, it's "The Thing" or a super sinker), his ground ball rate is perennially above 55%; add above average strikeout ability and good command, and you have the makings of a very successful starter. Even though he posted an inflated strand rate during his breakout 2013, it was offset by a high home run per fly ball rate; in 2014, both rates normalized slightly, bringing his ERA more in line with his fielding independent pitching numbers. The problem has always been health, as Cobb missed significant time in both 2013 and 2014 before his completely lost 2015. Some of that is simply misfortune, as anyone could suffer a scary line drive to the head -- but given his history and Tommy John surgery, Cobb will most likely be given the "fragile" label. Still, if all goes to plan with his rehab, Cobb will return around midseason, slotting straight back into the top of the Rays' rotation and hopefully providing much of the same great production we've seen out of him during his highly successful seasons. (Owen Watson)

The Quick Opinion: Cobb pushed himself into the conversation of top tier starting pitchers with his breakout 2013. 2014 reinforced the breakout -- albeit with a lengthy stint on the disabled list -- and 2015 looked promising in furthering his place atop Tampa Bay's rotation. But the injury bug bit again, and now his workload for 2016 is dependent largely on how he fares during his rehab. Expect Cobb to contribute, but not until around the mid-point of the season, and its best to keep any expectations low about the level of that performance until we see him back on the mound.

Profile: The last two seasons are a painful reminder that Tommy John surgery is anything but routine and that every rehab process is unique. Cobb tried to avoid surgery with PRP injections, but he went under the knife in May of 2015 and did not pitch in a major league game again until September of '16. The Cobb we saw last year looked little like the one that finished the '14 season, but that was to be expected with the long layoff and hurdles of his rehab process. When healthy, he follows the recipe of most Rays pitchers: fastballs up, changeups down, and keep the breaking ball in the back of the batters' minds. Unlike Jake Odorizzi, Cobb keeps the ball in the yard but struggles to keep himself on the mound, as he has yet to work even 170 innings in a season due to a variety of injuries. (Jason Collette)

The Quick Opinion: The rust should be all off Cobb in 2017, but history tells us he will spend some amount of time on the disabled list one way or another. He has the pieces to be one of the better pitchers in baseball, but the repeated health issues limit his ceiling.